Alert archive / Minnesota / Tornado Warnings in 1998

Tornado Warning 24, NWS Duluth, MN

May 18, 1998Itasca County, Minnesota

NWS Duluth, MN issued this tornado warning at May 18, 1998, 10:42 PM CDT for Itasca County, Minnesota. It was in force for 48 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued: May 18, 1998, 10:42 PM CDT (03:42 UTC)
Expired: May 18, 1998, 11:30 PM CDT
In force: 48 min
Issued by: NWS Duluth, MN
Area: Whole counties

County Itasca County, MN

The radar

The Duluth radar (KDLH), 131 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 03:42 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

The watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
May 18, 5:45 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

International Fa, MN (KINL), launched 00:00Z, 3.7 hours before the alert went out and 120 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.

Skew-T log-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.

Mixed-layer CAPE: 777 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -11 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 2499 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 31 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 60 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 179 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 2.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

452 
WFUS1 KDLH 190343 RRA
TORDLH
MNC061-190430-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN
1042 PM CDT MON MAY 18 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DULUTH HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHERN AND EASTERN ITASCA COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL MINNESOTA

* UNTIL 1130 PM CDT

* AT 1040 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  DEVELOPING TORNADO 2 MILES WEST OF GRAND RAPIDS... MOVING NORTHEAST
  AT 25 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO AFFECT...
  GRAND RAPIDS THROUGH 1050 PM CDT
  AND REACH BOVEY BY 1050 PM CDT

GO TO THE BASEMENT OR A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR

PACKINGHAM

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this tornado warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Duluth, MN wrote its last area forecast discussion before this tornado warning went out at May 18, 1:30 PM CDT, 9 hours 12 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 18, 1:30 PM CDT, 9 hours 12 minutes before

AREA FORECST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN
130 PM CDT MON MAY 18 1998

MAIN FOCUS FOR TNGT IS THUNDERSTORM CHC.

COLD FRONT CURRENTLY IN WESTERN MINNESOTA AND PRETTY MUCH ON TRACK
WITH ETA. NO THUNDERSTORMS HAVE DEVELOPED YET ALONG FRONT...HOWEVER
WITH AIRMASS VERY UNSTABLE AHEAD OF FRONT...AM STILL EXPECTING SCT
DEVELOPMENT MAINLY ALONG FRONT. NO REAL UPPER AIR DYNAMICS UNTIL
WELL AFT FROPA...BUT HOPEFULLY THE LOW LVL MOISTURE AND UNSTABLE
CONDITIONS WILL MAKE UP FOR THAT.

FRONT MOVES OUT OF MOST OF NE MN BY LATE EVENING...AND INTO NW WI
EARLY THIS EVENING THEN OUT OF MOST OF NW WI BY 2AM. THETA-E RIDGE NOSES
UP TO DLH BY 00Z AND THEN MOVES EAST OF CWA AROUND MIDNIGHT. WOULD
IMAGINE THAT MOST OF ACTION IN CWA WILL THEN BE OVER AROUND OR
WITHIN A COUPLE HOURS OF MIDNIGHT.

SO FOR NOW...WILL GO WITH A 30/40 PERCENT CHC OF SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS FOR NE MN THIS EVENING...EARLY EVENING FOR PLACES SUCH
AS INL AND BRD...AND THROUGH MIDNIGHT FOR NW WI. DRY AIR BEHIND
FRONT BUT SOME PVA AS WELL...SO WILL GO PARTLY CLOUDY AFTER FROPA.

NGM A LITTLE COOLER THAN TNGT THAN ETA. TAKING INTO ACCOUNT EXPECTED
DEW POINTS AND A LIITLE BIT OF WIND...WILL LEAN MORE TOWARD ETA. SO
GENERALLY MID TO UPPER 50S FROM EC MN TO NW WI...AND 50 TO 55 ACROSS
REST OF NE MN.

TAP

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 18, 6:39 PM CDT, 4 hours 3 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE  DULUTH MN
639 PM CDT MON MAY 18 1998

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0520 PM    13 E NORTHOME             MN   1.75 INCH HAIL
05/18/98   KOOCHICHING

0555 PM    1 E WIRT                  MN   WIND DAMAGE
05/18/98   ITASCA                         6 TO 8 INCH TREES

0520 PM    13 E NORTHOME             MN   1.75 INCH HAIL
05/18/98   KOOCHICHING

0555 PM    1 E WIRT                  MN   WIND DAMAGE
05/18/98   ITASCA                         6 TO 8 INCH TREES DOWN

TAP

Local storm report, May 18, 6:39 PM CDT, 4 hours 3 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE  DULUTH MN
639 PM CDT MON MAY 18 1998

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0520 PM    13 E NORTHOME             MN   1.75 INCH HAIL
05/18/98   KOOCHICHING

0555 PM    1 E WIRT                  MN   WIND DAMAGE
05/18/98   ITASCA                         6 TO 8 INCH TREES

0520 PM    13 E NORTHOME             MN   1.75 INCH HAIL
05/18/98   KOOCHICHING

0555 PM    1 E WIRT                  MN   WIND DAMAGE
05/18/98   ITASCA                         6 TO 8 INCH TREES DOWN

TAP

Local storm report, May 18, 6:40 PM CDT, 4 hours 2 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE  DULUTH MN
640 PM CDT MON MAY 18 1998

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0520 PM    13 E NORTHOME             MN   1.75 INCH HAIL
05/18/98   KOOCHICHING

0555 PM    1 E WIRT                  MN   WIND DAMAGE
05/18/98   ITASCA                         6 TO 8 INCH TREES DOWN

TAP

Local storm report, May 18, 6:40 PM CDT, 4 hours 2 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE  DULUTH MN
640 PM CDT MON MAY 18 1998

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0520 PM    13 E NORTHOME             MN   1.75 INCH HAIL
05/18/98   KOOCHICHING

0555 PM    1 E WIRT                  MN   WIND DAMAGE
05/18/98   ITASCA                         6 TO 8 INCH TREES DOWN

TAP

The office that day

Everything else NWS Duluth, MN issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 18, 7:10 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DLH	Koochiching, Saint Louis	60 min
May 18, 7:36 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DLH	Koochiching	64 min
May 18, 8:17 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DLH	Itasca	63 min
May 18, 8:27 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DLH	Aitkin, Cass	63 min
May 18, 8:44 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	DLH	Itasca	51 min
May 18, 8:51 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DLH	Itasca	64 min
May 18, 9:30 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DLH	Koochiching	60 min
May 18, 9:35 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DLH	Saint Louis	60 min
May 18, 9:44 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DLH	Cass, Itasca	61 min
May 18, 10:00 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DLH	Koochiching	60 min
May 18, 10:05 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DLH	Aitkin	65 min
May 18, 10:33 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DLH	Saint Louis	62 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Minnesota, 1998 Every tornado warning in 1998 Tornadoes in 1998

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.